When it comes to marketing your wedding venue or wedding business you can spend as much as you like on promotion, however to maximise your ROI its crucial that you are meeting the demands of couples planning their wedding right now.

Marketing Strategies for the Modern Day Bride & Groom

We take a look at what a modern day bride & groom actually wants, and what’s vitally important to them during their wedding planning process, from their venue search to other aspects of wedding planning.

Whether you own an incredible wedding venue, you’re a florist, caterer, bridal shop or wedding planner, soak up the knowledge on what a bride is really after…

Information Instantly

We live in a world where you can Google a question and instantly be given the answer, where you can order and receive a product from Amazon same day, where you can watch a whole series on Netflix at the exact time that suits you, everything is on demand and everything is becoming instant. No matter what the context, easier and quicker becomes the desired outcome.

When it comes to the wedding industry this translates to instant information, couples want easy, quick access to pricing, questions and finer details.

Access to pricing

We’ve all swooned over gorgeous imagery online to soon find out the price tag is without a doubt miles apart from what you can realistically spend but there is nothing more frustrating then not being able to find any idea of the price or even the price range!

When couples fall in love with a venue or supplier, they need to establish if their budget fits, having to fill out contact forms and waiting 24 hours for simple answers is not instant access to key information, resulting in frustrated individuals simply moving on to look at other potential options.

Without a doubt, every wedding is different, every detail ultimately unique and one price does not fit all but displaying pricing details gives an element of what to expect, at the very least a minimum ‘From or Starting Price’ gives couples an idea on your offerings.

From a business perspective this should eliminate enquiries from couples without the necessary budget, saving both the couple and you valued time.

Read – Why You Should Show Prices On Your Wedding Business Website

Ensure you answer your most commonly asked questions on your website, a great way to do this is by incorporating an FAQ section, think about the facts that couples want to and need to know about your venue or services. Include; onsite accommodation details or nearby hotels available for guests, catering options, your ceremony and reception capacities and features such a being pet-friendly and licensed for legal ceremonies.

Regularly review your website, update information, ensure key facts are included and importantly making sure they are quick and easy to find. With the constant desire for everything being instant and convenient, make sure your call to actions are obvious and constant throughout your site allowing couples to quickly get in touch and book a viewing or consultation.

Quick Responses

Weddings are bespoke to every couple and regardless of how much information you supply online or through brochures, specific questions will be fired your way, this could be anything from a quick detail query to asking for a full days quote or to arrange a viewing.

The key is to respond quickly, in a personalised manner. Responding with a simple template message that covers everything and anything is just not good enough, keep it specific to their query. Having saved email templates with key information at hand is great but don’t just copy and paste to every enquiry you receive.

Tip: Don’t forget to check your social media messages, couples will enquire and get in touch this way too!

Quick responses are vital not just from your website contact form but every point of contact you receive, be it phone calls, messages from directory websites, sites you featured on or social media platforms, be it Facebook, Instagram or Twitter DM. Remember social media platforms are all 24-7 points of contact, they need to be monitored and responded to in a timely manner to ensure none are missed.

When it comes to viewings, instead of numerous back and forth emails, allow couples to instantly book a time and date that suits them by adding a link to your calendar, using something like calendly. Speed is key, couples are potentially arranging a number of viewings, scheduling your venue quickly and efficiently certainly gets you off on the right foot.

A Connection / Personality

Before a couple make contact you want to create a connection, let them know the people behind the business and who they will potentially be speaking to. Whether you’re a wedding venue owner, planner, florist or other wedding supplier, introduce yourself. If you are a family run business then share this, introduce yourselves and what you do, right down to the family dog and cat.

Your story, passion and enthusiasm, sells your product and your vision. Engaged couples are likely to be spending a large amount of their time chatting and forming a relationship along their planning journey with you and your business, make them feel comfortable right from the beginning.

Personality

It’s also a great idea to have a team page with images introducing each member. Instead of couples contacting ‘Wedding barn’ to arrange a viewing, how about getting in touch with ‘Kelly to show you around our beautiful barn’. Connect your wedding business to couples with the people who are running it.

Instagram stories and reels are a great way to introduce yourself or key members of the team, if you are the first point of contact for couples then say hello and introduce yourself in a quick video.

Trust

As with any business reviews are crucial, and as a people industry, wedding bookings are centred around experiences, trust and the knowledge couples gain from a variety of sources. Couples want to read reviews, Bridebook stated that couples will read 42 reviews before making a decision, it is important that you have visible recent testimonials (ok, pre-pandemic!) and you shout about them.

When the wedding season once again kicks off, ensure that you ask your wedding couples to leave a review, and make sure they are used, include them in your PDF brochure, on your website and on social media. Don’t just do this annually, keep them fresh to keep couples engaged.

Action steps: Make sure you have reviews from your most recent couples and make sure you are using them, add them to your website and share on social media.

Wowed

As an umbrella to the last four points, couples want to be wowed, before making contact with you via email or phone, your business must ‘Wow!’ them. This all comes down to your online presence and points of contact, from your social media, to your website and third party features, to wedding fairs and printed advertisements.

Keep your website modern, up-to-date and easy to use whilst displaying all relevant information clearly with easy steps to get in touch. Include fresh, quality photography that shows off your venue or product which depict an array of suitable wedding styles to appeal to your ideal couples.

Your potential bride and grooms are likely to be Instagram users, they will look at your page and many will even find you this way. For couples this is the perfect platform to go and see different photos of your venue, and also view photos that you are tagged in, if you are a supplier couples can quickly see your recent work and get ideas and inspiration. The key is to ensure you use these social media platforms and keep them updated and ensure you check the DM’s!

You want your wedding business, brand and quality reflected across all points of contact, from your website, social media and marketing platforms, so make sure they are all looking their best, up to date and reflecting of you as a business.

One last word

As we shift into a world where Gen Z couples begin to plan their weddings, marketing strategies will need to adapt, speed and ease certainly needs to be considered but the desire to feel idealised as ‘the-one-and-only’ in a world of engaged couples has to be addressed. Bring your personality, wear your heart on your sleeve and tell the story of your business to attract the future in wedding planning couples.